June 2023

The Marlborough Tiny Forest was planted on the west side of Bob Edwards School, located in the northeast community of Marlborough. This forest was planted by Calgary Parks and the Climate Hub provided the forest design concept as well as some additional ground cover plants purchased from ALCLA Native Plants with support from a grant provided by the Alberta Native Plant Council (ANPC). The Hub team worked closely with Calgary Parks to finalize plant species selection and layout the planting area according to the leaf-shaped design created by Heather Morigeau.

This forest was originally intended for the Saddle Ridge community and the Climate Hub was working with the Saddle Ridge Community Association (SRCA) to engage the community and increase awareness of the forest that was to be planted in one of their municipal parks. This included door knocking with the Vice President of the SCRA and developing a flyer that was to be distributed to homes around the park. Calgary Parks planned to use contractors to plant the forest because it was part of a wider Miyawaki forest pilot program and they wanted to ensure planting was done by professionals to keep the planting of the forest equivalent to the other forests in the pilot for data comparison purposes. Since the community couldn't be involved in planting the Hub was planning a "Meet The Forest" event in the park.

Unfortunately, the heavy equipment needed to prepare the site put at risk an expensive irrigation system already installed in the park. This resulted in the forest location being changed to the Bob Edwards School in Marlborough. The change of location didn't leave enough time for community engagement in Marlborough so the Climate Hub wasn't able to initiate what we consider to be one of the key aspects of bringing a tiny forest to a community.

Calgary Parks planted a forest that was approximately 600m2 in size and contained over 2000 plants. The forest is in a beautiful location on the school grounds, just west of the school. Calgary Parks provided fencing and signage to describe the tiny forest initiative. Calgary Parks also provides ongoing maintenance and educational opportunities.

The Marlborough mini forest was completed in time to host a summer performance of "The Little Forest" play written by local playwright Clem Martini and performed by the University of Calgary's Wagonstage Theatre company. 

Photos by Heather Addy

Forests for Calgary is funded by Alberta Ecotrust Foundation’s Climate Innovation Grant Program.

We would also like to acknowledge the generous support from the following funders: